Johnson to reconsider his limited-overs future

Keen to prolong his Test career, with the 2015 Ashes in view, Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson is contemplating on retiring from one or both forms of limited-overs cricket. While he has not made it clear as yet, the quick bowler has hinted that he could first quit T20Is, as he is eager to lead the Australian pace attack in the 2015 ODI World Cup.

Speaking to cricket.com.au, Johnson said: " think I've got to be a lot smarter now. Twenty20 cricket you don't play a lot of anyway, it just happened at this time there was a World Cup straight after the South Africa series which I was looking forward to being involved in before I got injured," he said.

"Twenty20, I will quite happily say, is not my favourite format I would rather play Test cricket. And maybe one-day (50-over international) cricket I have to look at as well," he added.

While Australia won the 2007 World Cup, Johnson did not play an active part in that as he was benched for the entire tournament. He is now eager to make his presence felt in the 2015 World Cup, which will take place in Australia and New Zealand.

"I'd like to win a World Cup - I've been involved in the West Indies in 2007 which was a well-paid holiday apparently. And while it was tough work, the campaign we went through, it was a good place to be and a great experience," he said.

"So I would love to be a part of Australia's 2015 World Cup and I certainly think we've got the team to win it. We've played some really good one-day cricket and given that it's being played at home, it would be a great opportunity," The pacer mentioned.

Johnson, however, reiterated that primary thing on his mind was to deliver in the Ashes series in 2015. Johnson, who was the hero of the Australia leg of the Ashes in 2013-14 and the star performer in the Test series against South Africa said: "My main goal now is to get to that 2015 Ashes series in England, so I'll be doing everything I can to reach that goal."

The left-handed pacer, for the next couple of months, will be busy playing in the Indian Premier League, and he he eager to perform well for the Punjab franchise, who picked him up for Rs 6.5 crores.

"I've had confidence with the white ball and been pretty consistent in the limited-overs format. You can get the white ball to swing, but really it's just good to get out there and enjoy some cricket which is how I see the IPL it's really just a form of entertainment," he said.

Speaking about his IPL experience in 2013, when he was the star bowler for the Mumbai Indians, Johnson said: The first IPL I played (last year) with a really good team at Mumbai and played with Sachin (Tendulkar) which was really exciting. He's a guy that I had grown up watching and to have the opportunity to play with him is something not many people get."

"One of the other things I got out of it was to play with different cultures we had a couple of West Indians (Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith), a couple of New Zealanders (Jacob Oram and James Franklin) and obviously the Indian guys, as well Australians such as Glenn Maxwell and Nathan Coulter-Nile. So you can get a bit of an understanding how other teams and other players go about it. And all in all, the IPL is just unbelievable," he said.

"Guys who had played there before and like Shane (Watson) and Davey Warner had told me about how exciting it was that and that it was heaps of fun. It is a bit of a circus, the crowds are massive and get right behind it and it's just so full on.

"People ask me what's India like, and I say they make you feel like a rock star because they just cheer for you non-stop. You come back to the hotel after a game, and in the lobby there's just people everywhere screaming and yelling. It's quite amazing when theyre chanting for you, and I can remember going down to fine leg between overs and they're standing and cheering my name. That certainly doesn't happen very often when you're playing overseas," said an excited Johnson.